(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved buoyant cable antenna for marine applications and a process of manufacturing same.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Buoyant cable arrangements have been used in a number of marine applications. For example, buoyant cables have been used in the seismic surveying of underwater geological formations. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,570,707 to Parr and 2,638,176 to Doolittle illustrate two such buoyant cable arrangements. In the Parr system, the cable is constructed and arranged to float one the water surface, either by virtue of its own buoyancy or by the use of buoyant devices secured thereto. The cable, in a preferred embodiment, was a metal cable, such as a stainless steel cable, to which were secured cork floats. In Doolittle, the cable is supported by a plurality of floats.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,287,691 to Savit illustrates a deployed hydrophone cable. The cable comprises a plurality of hydrophones connected to the cable in spaced relationship along its length and floatable cable covering segments having a positive buoyancy encasing the cable between the hydrophones. The hydrophone cable itself comprises a conventional multi-conductor insulated cable.
Buoyant cable antenna systems are known in the prior art. FIG. 1 illustrates one such buoyant cable antenna system 10 which is deployed from a submerged vehicle 12. The system 10 includes a buoyant cable transmission line 14, to which is connected in sequence a loop amplifier 16, an athwart loop antenna 18, a wire amplifier 20, and a horizontal antenna element 22.
On-going buoyant cable antenna research requires the use of a flexible buoyant material, that when deployed by a marine vehicle, such as a submerged vehicle, realizes a designed shape.